The Walking Between the Hills

The sai is the rite of walking seven times between the two low hills of Safa and Marwa, now enclosed within the Sacred Mosque of Mecca, performed as part of both the greater pilgrimage and the lesser umrah. The pilgrim begins at Safa, walks to Marwa and back, counting each leg as one of the seven, ending at Marwa. Men traditionally quicken to a light jog between two points marked with green lights, in the low ground where the valley once ran, while women keep a steady pace. The Qur'an names the two hills directly as among the symbols of God and permits the going between them, and it is this verse that establishes the rite.

The sai commemorates a specific story: the search of Hagar, the wife of Abraham, who, left in the barren valley with her infant son Ishmael, ran back and forth between the two hills in desperate search of water, until the spring of Zamzam broke open at the child's feet. In retracing her steps the pilgrim re-enacts a mother's trust and struggle, and the ever-flowing well of Zamzam beside the Kaaba is understood as its answer.